Alex Ashwood & the Olympians: The Missing Carrier
by GeneralWildfire
Summary: Alex is a regular kid with dyslexia and ADHD, at least that's what she believes, even with the exploding toilets and horses talking to her, why should she be different? However, she's about to become a part of a world that shouldn't exist.
1. One

_**I do not own any of the original Percy Jackson characters (and yes, I borrowed the beginning portion of this chapter from Rick Riordan's-I couldn't resist), they all belong to Rick Riordan and his genius.**_

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><p><strong>One: I Talk to Some Horses…And They Talk Back<strong>

Look, I never asked to be different, much less a half-blood.

If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is simple: stop reading this fan fiction right now! Believe whatever lie your mom or dad have told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.

Being a half-blood is dangerous, not to mention a pain in the as-butt! Usually half-bloods do not live very long, killed in various painful, gruesome ways.

If you're a regular kid reading this because you think it's simply fiction, I really envy you right now. Keep reading then. I truly do envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened.

However, if you DO recognize yourself in this fan fiction, if you feel like it all makes sense—stop reading. If you're a half-blood and you realize what you REALLY are, it's only a matter of time before you're found since _they _sense it too, and they'll come, trust me, they will.

Are you still reading? All right…don't say I didn't warn you.

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><p>My name is Alex Ashwood.<p>

I'm twelve years old. Until a few months ago I was a student at an ordinary private school for troubled students in New York called Hale Academy.

Am I a troubled kid? I honestly don't think so. Trouble just seems to find me…

My short, miserable life was bad from the beginning. I never knew my real father and my mother treats me like the Black Plague. She married recently to a Peter Simpson, making our pathetic family of two go to being a family of five. My step father has two daughters: Stephanie and Rachel (aka: Spoiled Rotten Brats).

Moving on, while the princesses get everything and anything they want, any time the want things, ergo, all the time; I'm lucky to have three t-shirts, two pairs of jeans, a sweatshirt, two pairs of shorts, and several small necessities.

Now, don't get me wrong, my step-father tries to get/give me things and to show me some of the affection that he shows to his own daughters, but my mother always appears out of nowhere, as if summoned, and she'd shout at me…she'd strike me too when my step father wasn't around…

Onward we plunge through my history so you will understand my life. I've been to a lot of private schools, but so far Hale was the best! I finely had a friend for the first time named Aias.

Aias looks like he's been held back a few grades since he has acne already and he's taller than all of the other students (or maybe the rest of us are just short), and he even has a bit of a goatee on his chin. He has reddish brown hair that he always keeps hidden under a black baseball cap and the teachers never mind, since they don't mind what we students wear, so long as we pay attention in class. Aias is a prime target for bullies since he walks with a limp and he's really jumpy. You must understand that I'm very protective of my friends, so when the bullies pick on Aias, I usually get into a fight with them…and I usually lost; but this fact never seemed to bother Aias, he was just always glad to see me in one, bruised, banged up, piece. He acted like I was bound to die each time I faced the bullies.

Aias was one of the few great things about Hale. The teachers…well they were teachers, there was nothing really special about them and they all had their favorites (which I was not one of them). I stand corrected, there were two teachers who seemed to really like me, and they made life at Hale bearable.

There was Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher. He was middle aged and in a motorized wheelchair. Mr. Brunner had thinning hair and a scruffy beard, and he usually wore a frayed tweed jacket. Not to mention that he loved to have fun in class. He thought using old Roman armor and weapons he had was a good way to get us to learn, and he would sometimes challenge us to duels to see if we knew our Latin. His only flaw, in my eyes, was that he always seemed to think that I couldn't fail. I really don't think he checked his students' histories, otherwise, he'd know that I was lucky to get a C!

Okay, so I lied. There is one class that I'm getting an A in by some stroke of luck…Literature. This is also the class that my favorite teacher teaches.

Mr. Jackson is the youngest teacher at Hale. He has black hair that has a streak of grey in it, though it's only in one spot; along with green eyes that kind of resemble mine. He also had a lanky build, and was of average height. His teaching style is similar to Mr. Brunner's, especially when he challenges us to a Greek mythology (our current subject of study) quiz, waving a bronze sword. The only difference between the two, apart from their looks, is that he expects me to give my best in his class, now what he thought was my best.

Which brings us to the Hale library where I was diligently working on a paper…more like trying to find a typed mythology paper I thought I had saved; of course, I was randomly pressing different combinations of buttons on the keyboard, muttering to myself as I did so, "Let's try control F4…" Suddenly a view of the outside faculty parking lot came onto the screen, while I struggled to read the words at the bottom. Did I forget to mention that I was dyslexic? "Security cam…escape!" I jabbed the escape several times to get out of the security camera footage.

"Okay," I muttered, "Let's try control F3…" A list appeared on the computer in a font that was easy for me to read, "Cool! The teachers' list! I wonder what Mr. Jackson's first name is?" I should also mention at this time that I also have ADHD. Scanning the screen, I found that where Mr. Jackson's first name should have been, there was simply a blank space.

"What are you doing?" A voice asked from behind me.

_Escape! Escape! Escape!_ I repeatedly hit the Escape key, recognizing Mr. Brunner's voice, as he rolled up next to me in his wheelchair. He gazed at me searchingly, probably wondering why I had such a guilty look on my face.

I sighed in defeat, knowing I'd have to tell him part of the truth, "I was trying to bring up a paper I THOUGHT I saved… Scratch that. I KNOW I saved it." What? Did you really think I would tell him that I got distracted and had been looking at the teachers' list? I don't think so.

"Who's class is it for?" Mr. Brunner questioned.

"Mr. Jackson's," I answered. "But he won't understand…"

I'm sure he will," a voice that definitely didn't belong to Mr. Brunner said in a light tone.

Turning around in the chair, I spotted Mr. Jackson leaning casually against the library doors. He continued as he grabbed a pen from his pocket and started to spin it around with one hand, "I will allow you an extension on the paper. I expect it on my desk by Wednesday."

"Thank you," I said, blushing as Mr. Jackson glanced meaningfully at Mr. Brunner, before heading back out of the library. Mr. Brunner gave me a small smile, before he followed Mr. Jackson out.

Sighing in relief, I grabbed my flash drive out of the computer and shut it down, glad to be able to head to my dorm room for the night so I could get some sleep before the field trip to Belmont Park race track tomorrow.

As I walked down the hallway and up the stairs to my dorm room, which was on the fifth floor, I spotted Aias sitting next to my door, looking worried. His expression quickly changed to relief as I got closer. That's the weird thing about Aias, he always has to know where I am, otherwise he gets panic stricken. You would think I was going to get killed if I was out of his sight.

"Where have you been?" Aias asked, in his usual way of greeting me when I've been out of his sight.

"At the library," I answered, pulling out my dorm key.

Aias sighed, "So you weren't outside?"

"No…" Now I was suspicious. "Why? What happened outside?"

"N-nothing!" He stuttered. "So…what were you doing in the library," Aias questioned, changing the subject.

"Trying to get my paper to come up," I muttered, still a bit peeved that I hadn't managed to bring it up.

Aias nodded distractedly, glancing down the hallway at the window, as he shifted uneasily from one foot to the other. I followed his gaze, but I didn't see anything that could have caused alarm.

"I'm going to hit the hay," I stated as I unlocked my door, trying to give him the hint to leave.

Aias nodded, and started to head down the hall towards the stairs. He paused as he reached the first step, "Alex…do me a favor?"

"What?" I asked, wondering what was up.

"Don't open your bedroom window tonight," and with that happy good night, he walked down the stairs.

To say the least…I didn't sleep well that night.

I dreamt of a man with black hair and wearing a toga that was splattered with blood, which I noticed was dripping from the bag in his hand as he flew over the ocean, his winged sandals apparently keeping him in the air. As the blood from the bag hit the waves below, the water became frothy as the waves seemed to condense on that spot. The man with the bloody bag noticed this and spotted, wary of what was going on as he pulled out a sword, watching the spot intently. From the ocean calmed for a second before something pure white erupted out of the water with a trumpeting whinny. A spectacular, white stallion with white wings to match rose out of the ocean, keeping itself aloft with each down stroke of its wings.

Now, I bet you're thinking, "that dream doesn't sound too bad" but that was just the first part of the dream.

The man with the bloody bag disappeared as the dream turned dark, I mean literally, everything went black, and only the white, winged stallion remained, looking older than it had when it first appeared, but more wary of its surroundings, and it now wore a golden bridle on its majestic head and a pack was on its back containing, I don't know what. The shadows of the dream condensed around the stallion, and it cried out in pain as one of its wings was crippled by a massive hand-like shadow grabbing it, before it was dragged, by its bridle into the shadows, and a cold, cruel voice laughed as the stallion disappeared, just as lightning flashed in my dream.

I sat bolt upright in bed, sweat trickling down my neck as lightning flashed outside my window, throwing a silhouette across my window for a brief second. I rubbed my eyes, hoping I'd imagined the "angel of death" type silhouette. Lightning flashed again, and there was no such silhouette, so I assumed my brain had simply found a new way to scar the crap out of me when I wasn't asleep. (No, it would not be the first time this has happened, but we'll go into those later.)

I didn't sleep the rest of the night though, as I was too busy keeping an eye on my window every time lightning flashed. I did finally manage to get a couple winks of shut eye around three in the morning when the storm finally stopped.

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><p>The next morning, the teachers managed to get us all loaded onto two school buses and within fifteen minutes, we were on our way to Belmont Park. In case you were wondering Hale trips are usually just as boring as any other school field trip, but this end of the trip was a bit different, since it was purely recreational. The only things we would be learning is which teachers were lucky and which weren't when it came to betting.<p>

Until we got to the park, Aias and I had to deal with being pelted by spit wads and God knows what else. Aias was taking it the way he usually did, ignoring them, while he watched me seethe in my seat, my temper threatening to break through my self control.

Something wet and slimy hit the back of my head, and I started to rise out of my seat, but Aias kept me in my seat by placing a hand on my shoulder, "Don't! You'll get kicked out of school!"

This was enough to keep me in my seat. I really liked Hale, and I was determined not to get kicked out of it. However, I was already walking a fine line as it was considering I'd somehow managed to flood the girls, and strangely, the boys' bathroom when some bullies had been threatening to give Aias and I a swirly, and had been trying to force us through the bathroom door. I still had no idea how the toilets flooded, but I got blamed since the headmaster believed the bullies, not Aias or myself. There were other strange occurrences like that as well, but that was the strangest, and so I was now on probation.

Still seething I stayed in my seat, noticing that Aias kept shooting me anxious glances, probably thinking that I'd lose my temper at any second…he wasn't wrong either.

Once we were at Belmont Park, the bullies eased up a bit (probably because they now had to figure out how they could place bets on the horses without getting caught), so that allowed Aias and I time to explore the stables on our own (with Mr. Brunner keeping an eye on us) while Mr. Jackson and the other teachers led a group to the stands so they could get good seats for the races that day.

Aias and Mr. Brunner really didn't like the stables, and they hurried through them, while I stopped at and looked at each stall (no, we were not allowed to get close to the horses, but we could still look at them).

As I gazed at one horse, a pretty chestnut mare, with a star on her forehead. I said, "You're a pretty one, aren't you?"

_Thank you, milady,_ I heard in my head. I jumped, glancing around warily. Aias and Mr. Brunner were near the end of the stables, and no one else was around.

_I'm right here, milady,_ the voice said again, and I glanced at the mare, "You're talking…and I can hear you?"

The mare tossed her head, _of course you can._

"No offense, but I'm very confused…" I found the mare's name plate above her stall, "Blessed Ruby."

The mare snorted, _what is there to be confused about, milady?_

_Everything…_ "Nothing…I guess," I muttered.

_Good,_ Blessed Ruby tossed her head again, _if I may suggest, if you are of betting age that you bet on me during the sixth race? I'm a sure win._

_Don't listen to her,_ another voice said, as a black stallion put his head over his stall door, _she's the long shot, I'M the favorite of the sixth race._

Blessed Ruby bared her teeth at the black, _I can run circles around you any day!_

_We'll see,_ the black stallion said, pulling his head back into his stall.

"Well, pleasant as this has been, I'd better go," I said, wanting to leave this insane stable.

A taunting voice got my attention, "Talking to horses? How lame!"

I whipped around to see the bullies, Arnold, Trevor, and Dillon; they were triplets with red hair, freckles across their noses, and egos the size of Manhattan. I glared at them while I watched the black stallion stick his head out of his stall again, ears laid back, and Blessed Ruby did the same, her eyes on the bullies.

Arnold continued, "So your friend dumped you and now you're talking to horses." He snorted with laughter at his own, lame taunt. "Too bad even the horses don't like you!" This got Trevor and Dillon laughing stupidly as well.

The black stallion bared his teeth now at Arnold, Trevor, and Dillon, _Maneuver them this way, Milady, and I'll take them down a peg!_ He clacked his teeth together menacingly, causing Arnold, Trevor, and Dillon, who were within a few feet of the stall to back against the stall across the way, casting the black stallion wary glances.

"You're the lame ones," I said, feeling bold. "Are you really scared of a few horses?"

They glared at me and started to move forward, when a groom, leading an old, dappled grey stallion said, "Hey! Move out of the way, boys, Truman here needs to get in his stall." The bullies reluctantly moved out of the way, and as the grey passed me I heard a new voice in my head (as if I didn't have enough), _I'll get rid of them, Milady._ I now had a headache, but I watched as the grey, Truman, passed the bullies, stopped, lifted his tail, and released a jet stream of pee, managing to hit all three bullies as he relieved himself. This set me to snickering, while the bullies screamed (like little girls I might add) and the groom started to apologize as he dragged Truman into his stall. Blessed Ruby and the black stallion neighed right along with Truman in laughter as the bullies were led out of the stables, the groom keeping his distance from the pee soaked bullies.

I was now laughing openly as I followed them out, keeping a safe distance between myself and them. Mr. Brunner frowned as I walked out behind them, "What happened?"

"A horse peed on them," I managed to say as I gasped for breath. Aias was even started to snicker as well, while Mr. Brunner continued to frown after the bullies. He seemed to be lost in thought for a bit, but he soon said, "Let's go find the others in the stands, the first race will be starting within the hour.

I will say this, that was the best field trip EVER! The races were awesome with Blessed Ruby and the black stallion from before finishing in a dead heat for first place, much to Blessed Ruby's displeasure and the black stallion's pleasure. (Yes, they still managed to talk to me), and when they did, Mr. Jackson glanced my way, but when I caught his eye, he looked away, frowning.

Aias asked, "What's up with Mr. Jackson?"

"No clue," I answered, feeling a bit perplexed. Mr. Jackson never frowned, especially not on a day he was winning bets (you guessed it, Mr. Jackson was one of the only teachers that had any luck with betting). I watched as he leaned over in his seat and whispered something to Mr. Brunner, who cast a quick glance my way, before he looked away hurriedly, before he muttered something to Mr. Jackson.

"Whatever it is," I said quietly to Aias. "I don't like it…let's head back to the bus now before I get in trouble for something or other."

Aias looked worried, "What did you do?"

"Nothing…that I know of," I answered honestly. I mean, they couldn't blame me for a horse peeing on someone…could they? We stood up and moved down the row to the end of the aisle, when Mr. Jackson called out, "Where are you two going?"

"Bathroom," I answered quickly.

Mr. Jackson gave us a skeptical look, "Both of you?"

"Buddy system?" I suggested.

Aias said at the same time, "I was actually just seeing where she was going…I'll sit back down." As Aias sat back down I noticed that Mr. Jackson was frowning even more, but I really wanted to get away, not wanting my day to be ruined by anything worse than Mr. Jackson frowning and a couple of horses talking to me.

I wish I could say now that a couple of talking horses had been the worst part of my day.

I entered the ladies' room, followed by an old woman…at least I thought it was an old woman, it was hard to see her face under her hood, which she had up even though it was the middle of May and it was close to ninety degrees outside.

Since I said I was using the bathroom, the least I could do was hide out in a bathroom stall until everyone was ready to leave. At least I wouldn't get in trouble for not being where I said I would be.

While sitting in the stall, I tried to figure out what I could have possibly done to displease my favorite teacher. It was highly doubtful that he'd heard the horses talking, because I still assumed that I had completely lost my mind.

"Where is he?" I creepy voice asked from the next stall. I remained silent, hoping whoever was in the stall was merely talking to themselves. It turned out they weren't, "Where is he?" The voice demanded, and I had enough common sense to get out of the stall, just as something smashed the left side in.

The little, old lady stood there, her hood now down, "Where is he?"

"I have no idea who you're talking about!" I answered, wary of this little old lady with the strength of a bulldozer.

"You're fooling no one," the old lady snapped. "Percy would not have dared take it since we know of him, but you…!" I was still perplexed, and my confusion quickly changed to terror as the old lady changed shape, leathery wings growing out of her back, and her hands becoming talons. I didn't stick around to find out what she planned to do, darting out of the bathroom, I collided with Mr. Brunner and his wheelchair, and I ended up tipping the poor guy over as I tumbled right over him.

"Alex?" Aias questioned, as he helped me right Mr. Brunner.

Mr. Brunner wasn't upset, to my surprise (not that an old lady changing into an overgrown bat didn't surprise me), "Alex, what's wrong?"

To answer his question, the hag came out of the bathroom with a terrible screech of fury and annoyance.

Aias paled, while Mr. Brunner said something in a different language, which I later realized I understood. (I wouldn't dare repeat what he said though.)

"We could really use some help now," I said to myself, not expecting an answer.

_We'll help, Milady,_ a voice said in my head with a chorus of agreement from many other voices. That's when we heard grooms and other people shouting in alarm along with the neighing and angry squeals of horses, and the thunder of their hooves as they charged the hag, ears flattened and teeth bared. The hag shrieked in rage as she was trampled (I hoped) by the horses.

"Get her to the bus," Mr. Brunner said suddenly, shoving me towards Aias, who grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the school bus. As he dragged me away, I spotted Mr. Jackson as he ran up to Mr. Brunner, his pen in his hand. Aias forced me into the seat and then sat there as if nothing had happened as the other kids and teachers boarded as well…though Mr. Jackson and Mr. Brunner were missing, but they arrived after five minutes.

Aias was facing the window, apparently determined not to look at me.

I wasn't going to accept that though, not after what had just happened. I asked him, "What just happened out there?"

"Hmm?" Aias glanced at me, "You mean that stampede? I don't know. It was weird though."

"That's not what I meant," I snapped, starting to get angry. "What was that hag?"

"That's not a nice thing to say about that old lady that got hit by the horses," Aias said, glancing nervously at the seat next to us where I realized that Mr. Jackson was sitting.

"Aias is right," Mr. Jackson said. "That was a freak accident back there and you're lucky you weren't trampled."

"But," by now I was stammering. "Didn't you see that she had talons and leathery wings?"

Mr. Jackson gave me a pitying look, "I think you've had too much sun, Alex. Why don't you try to sleep on the ride home?"

I felt very confused now, I know Mr. Jackson had to have seen the hag; she had still been visible when Aias had started to drag me away. "But…" I tried to argue.

Mr. Brunner said from his seat in front of us, "Enough, Alex. You've had a rough day. Nearly getting trampled by horses can do that."

I couldn't look at Aias, Mr. Brunner, or Mr. Jackson the entire bus ride back to the school. I knew what had seen, and I knew that they HAD to have seen it to…so why weren't they admitting that they had seen a hag with talons and leathery wings? Something told me that I was being kept in the dark about something, and I didn't like it one bit.


	2. Two

_**I do not own any of the original Percy Jackson characters they all belong to Rick Riordan and his genius.**_

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><p><strong>Two: I Learn That My Literature Teacher Drives Like a Maniac<strong>

I'm not sure how Arnold, Trevor, and Dillon managed it, but I was informed by the headmaster that I was expected to have my stuff packed by the end of the week…I had been expelled.

It was Friday, and my stuff was packed for when one, or both, of my parents picked me up. I really didn't want to go home; there was nothing there for me. My mother hated me, my step-sisters were brats, and my step-father could easily turn a blind eye to my plight. Half of me was debating whether or not I should run away and live on my own in the streets.

Being expelled wasn't the weirdest thing (although it was probably the most terrible) every time I asked anybody about that old hag; I was chastened for calling a helpless, old woman a hag. Apparently nobody else had seen what that old hag really was. I would have almost forgotten the incident if it wasn't for how Aias acted every time I randomly asked him about the old hag; he'd jump as if he'd been hit with a electrical shock before he would answer, "Alex, quit calling her that! She was a helpless old woman that was trampled by those horses!"

On Friday, my last day at Hale, I found myself wishing that I could somehow stay. I didn't want to go home. I'd rather live on the streets as a runaway kid rather than go back to my "family" (I use that term loosely).

I figured I would try to talk to my two favorite teachers, they hadn't even shown that I would be leaving their classes, treating me like they always had.

I later wished that I hadn't tried talking to either of them after class. In Mr. Brunner's class, after I had misspelled, spelled, and misspelled again all the Greek and Roman names I could remember on our pop quiz that day. I was turning in my paper, and I was about to say something to Mr. Brunner when he said, taking me off guard, "Alex. It's probably for the best that you're leaving Hale." That hurt. Here was one of my favorite teachers telling me I couldn't hack it.

"Right!" I said, putting on a false smile, as I grabbed my book bag and headed to the caferteria, biting my tongue as I tried to fight back the tears that threatened to flow from my eyes.

"Alex…!" I heard Mr. Brunner call out, but I just headed to lunch.

At lunch, Aias could tell that something was wrong as he munched on his meat-free salad, while I merely picked at my cheeseburger, fries, and peaches, "Alex, are you all right?" He noticed the glare I shot him, "No. You're leaving tomorrow morning, I guess you wouldn't be. You'd more likely be miserable."

I smiled. Leave it to Aias to know exactly how I felt. "There's that and what Mr. Brunner said to me…" I didn't feel like sharing that though.

"Maybe he didn't mean whatever he said to be cruel," Aias suggested, trying to look on the positive side of things. I shrugged not wanting to discuss it. Aias took the hint and changed the subject, "Mr. Jackson will be upset to see you go."

I couldn't help smiling. I was looking forward to seeing my favorite teacher next period, and I started to eat my food with my usual gusto.

Leaving the lunch room early, I headed to my usual spot in the front row. Mr. Jackson was writing on the whiteboard, his back to the desks, as he said, "Early as usual, Alex." He glanced back and gave me a small smile, "I take it you're ready to learn?"

"Always!" I answered.

Mr. Jackson finished writing and turned around to face me, his expression serious, as he leaned against his desk, "You know, Alex…" Just then the bell rang, cutting him off, as the rest of the class came in. "See me after class," he stated, before he greeted the rest of the class, "It's good to see you all again, are you ready for another lesson on Mythology?" We all shouted our affirmatives at various levels. "All right," he chuckled as he grabbed his own mythology book, "Today, we're going to continue Perseus' adventure. Now, who remembers from yesterday where we left off?" My hand shot into the air, "Alex?"

"Perseus had just killed the gorgon, Medusa and was trying to escape without her two siblings seeing him."

Mr. Jackson nodded, "That's right." He started to read from the book, "Now, as Perseus flew over the ocean with the aid of the winged sandals from Hermes, the bag that contained Medusa's head started to drip blood falling into the sea. The sea frothed where Medusa's blood hit, and from the sea sprang a white winged horse called…" He paused, gazing around at all of us. My hand was the first into the air again, but Mr. Jackson called on someone else this time.

"Pegasus," the girl said. You would think I would have learned everyone's names by now, but I didn't.

"That's correct," Mr. Jackson agreed, before he continued to read. "Now, Queen Cassiopeia had compared her beauty along with her daughter, Andromeda's beauty to that of the sea nymph's, bringing forth the wrath of Poseidon to their home, Ethiopia. Poseidon sent storms and a terrifying sea monster to terrorize the coast. Desperate for help, the Ethiopians sought out the oracle, who told them to sacrifice Andromeda to the sea monster. Without hesitation they chained her to a rock near the sea. Perseus was informed by the god of Messengers…" He glanced around at us, waiting for someone to just say the answer.

"Hermes," the entire class answered at once.

Mr. Jackson nodded in approval, "…Of Andromeda and the danger she was in. So he leapt onto Pegasus' back, flying to her rescue. Upon his arrival, he spotted the sea monster about to devour Andromeda. Taking Medusa's head out of the bag, he flew Pegasus right in front of the monster, and held the head right in front of the monster's eyes, turning it to stone. With a thrust of his sword, he killed the monster and freed Andromeda." Mr. Jackson glanced at the clock before he closed the book, before he gestured at the board, "Your assignment for tomorrow is on the board, you have the rest of class to work on it."

Glancing at the clock, I noted that I had five minutes to finish the assignment on the board. Desperate to show that I was still a dedicated student, even if I wasn't returning tomorrow, I deciphered the words on the board and found that Mr. Jackson had given us a reading assignment in our textbook. I sighed in defeat, there was no way I could get the assignment done in five minutes, but I started to read anyway.

The assigned text was a continuation of the myth Mr. Jackson had just finished reading…sort of. It was about Pegasus and what happened to him after Perseus had saved Andromeda.

I whispered the words as I read them, "Athena entrusted the care of Pegasus to the nine Muses. When he arrived, Pegasus struck the ground with his hoof and a spring welled up, called Hippocrene, which became sacred to the Muses, who delighted in taking care of Pegasus." I paused, jotting down a few things from what I had read before I continued, "Bellerophon, another hero, longed to capture Pegasus; to ride such a creature would be quite grand. However, Bellerophon had no idea how he could possibly capture the wild creature, and was advised, by a wise man, to sleep in the temple of Athena. Doing as he was advised, he slept in the temple of Athena, where he dreamt that Athena fashioned a golden bridle and set it in his hand. When he awoke, Bellerophon found that he held the same golden bridle from his dream. So when next Pegasus glided to Earth to drink, he accepted the golden bridle and Bellerophon's touch without question." I risked a glance at the clock and sighed in defeat. There was only a few seconds left of class, not enough time to finish the story.

I started shoving my stuff into my book bag and I had most of my stuff in it when the bell rang. I finished shoving a notebook in the bag just as the rest of the class was filing out.

Mr. Jackson leaned against his desk as he waited for the others to leave. Once the last person had left he began, "Alex…" I didn't like the tone he had, almost pitying. "I can't say I didn't expect this…"

"Oh," was all I could say, as I felt the tears sting my eyes, as I grabbed my book bag. I didn't want to hear any of this from my favorite teacher. It was bad enough that I had just heard him admit that he had expected me to fail from the beginning. "I'd better get to my next class," I managed to say without my voice breaking.

"Alex, wait!" Mr. Jackson said, as he pushed away from the desk, when I was halfway to the door.

I was out in the hallway, having no intention of going to my next class, when I heard Mr. Jackson say in a tone that told me that I should stop, "Alex!" I didn't listen, though, as I hid among the other stragglers in the hallway (which was quite a few people) as I made my way to my dorm room. What did it matter if I missed a few classes? I would be gone before classes started tomorrow anyway.

Flinging open my dorm room door, with a bit more force than was necessary, I threw my book bag towards the small desk that we were allowed in our rooms. Collapsing onto my bed, I was ready to let the tears fall freely from my eyes, when I heard Aias' voice from my doorway, "Alex? Are you all right?" Drat! I figured my door would have shut with how much force I had put into flinging it open.

It figured Aias had still been in the hallway when I had left Mr. Jackson's room. He wasn't exactly the fastest guy (although if he heard the words vegetarian salad he could move pretty fast). I got my emotions under control; after all, this was Aias, the guy who got teary-eyed whenever he heard that the lunchroom had run out of salads. I managed to grin as I pushed myself up into a sitting position, "Yeah, I just don't feel like going to any of the other classes, the teachers won't miss me anyway!"

"Al-all right," Aias said, though he didn't look convinced. He started to walk back down the hall when he paused, "Hey, Alex… In case you need me at anytime just take this card…" I was baffled as he held out a card, but I got off of my bed and walked over to him, taking the card.

The card was written in a fancy script, which made it extremely hard to read with my dyslexia but I thought it said something like:

_Aias Oakfield_

_Keeper_

_Half-Blood Hill_

_Long Island, New York_

_(800)009-0009_

"What's Half…"

Aias cut me off, "Don't say it here! Look, just call me if you ever need help, all right?"

I frowned. If _**I**_ ever needed help? Just who had been the one protecting Aias from bullies? Apparently Aias thought our roles were switched, "Sure, I'll call if I need you."

"I'm serious, Alex!" Aias insisted, able to tell that I wouldn't call him. He snatched the card back, "Here's my cell number as well, don't call it unless you really, really, really need me." He held out the card again.

"I will, don't worry," I reassured him, as I took the card, having no intention of doing any such thing. If I was in danger, I certainly didn't want to drag Aias into it.

Aias didn't look convinced, but he left, heading to his next class, which he was now five minutes late to.

Making sure my door was shut this time, I flopped onto my bed and I allowed my tears to flow freely. Neither of my two favorite teachers had ever really believed in me. I really didn't think their opinions would hurt so much, but they did. I had been under the impression that they had believed that I could do well, shows how much I knew!

Something about crying always seems to put me to sleep, and I was soon lost in a dream.

Mythology seems to love haunting my dreams, since I found myself in an ancient palace, the halls open to the daylight outside.

A strong looking man was walking down the hall, followed by a woman with a small circlet in her hair. She grabbed the man's arm and forced him to face her, "Bellerophon, please! You honestly can't tell me that you feel nothing for me!"

"Queen Anteia, please!" The man, Bellerophon said, pulling away from her. "I am a guest in your husband, King Proteus' home! I have no feelings for you!" With that said, he walked away from her, looking eager to put some distance between her and his person.

Queen Anteia looked after him longingly until he was out of sight, then her gaze became filled with rage. "How dare he refuse me?" She whispered in disbelief to herself. With a sweep of her dress she hurried towards a room, tears starting to fall down her face. Throwing open the door, she cried out, "Proteus!"

A man in the room turned away from studying some papers on the table, "Anteia! What's wrong? What has upset you so?"

"B-Bellerophon!" she sobbed. "He came into my room and he-he tried to have his way with me!" She became incoherent as her sobs inhibited her speech.

King Proteus looked furious, but that soon faded, "Zeus, Anteia! You're not asking me to have him killed?"

Queen Anteia hiccupped, "I would be at ease if you did!"

"You know I cannot," he argued. "I am a host, and I cannot break the bond between a host and guest or else I'd bring down the wrath of Zeus on us both." Anteia's sobs became stronger again. "Do not fret, my love. I shall find a way to dispose of him, even if I cannot do it myself…"

There was a white mist that obscured the dream for a second, before I was back in the same room, but instead of Queen Anteia being there with King Proteus, it was Bellerophon.

"You wanted to speak with me, your majesty?" Bellerophon inquired.

King Proteus nodded, "Yes, Bellerophon, I have a letter that I would like you to deliver to the King of Lycia, and it is of a very delicate nature. I need someone I can trust to deliver it, and with your steed and your bravery, I know that I can count on you."

Bellerophon was obviously flattered, "Of course I'll deliver the letter, your majesty." With a bow, he left the room.

King Proteus walked over to the window that was, of course, open to the outside elements, and he watched for several minutes until Bellerophon walked out, whistled, and mounted a white, winged stallion, with a golden bridle, who I recognized, now as Pegasus.

Everything turned dark then, apart from Pegasus, who seemed to glow in the darkness. Bellerophon had disappeared, and Pegasus now wore a pack on his back. He seemed exhausted as he lowered his head to drink from a pool of water that wasn't there. The darkness reached out and grabbed his right wing, crippling it, and another part of the darkness grabbed his bridle, and Pegasus squealed in alarm, while cruel laughter echoed in the darkness as Pegasus was dragged into the shadows.

I sat up, sweat dripping down my neck, "What the hell…?" I muttered to myself in the dark. It didn't seem possible that the dream could have taken such a dark turn at the end, just like it had the night before going to Belmont Park. I tried to shake off the feeling of terror that the dream had left me with. I glanced at my clock and moaned. It was only eight o'clock at night. I had slept through the rest of the day, and managed to miss a meal, probably meaning that Aias was in a tizzy about my well being.

Moving hurriedly, I got out of bed and made my way towards Aias' room, walking down a flight of stairs before I reached the floor that had several dorm rooms and a couple classes on it, including Math, blah! I made to knock on the door, when I heard voices in Aias' room. I was about to walk away when I recognized Mr. Brunner and Mr. Jackson's voices. Pressing my ear against the door, I started to eaves drop.

"…her!" Aias sounded distraught as I caught the last part of his sentence.

Mr. Brunner's voice was the next one I heard clearly, "You know that would put her in more danger."

Aias spoke again, "How am I supposed to follow her then?"

Now Mr. Jackson spoke up, "We'll figure something out, Aias. With what's been happening, I know we have to get her to camp soon, especially after the incident at the racetrack with the Kindly One."

Fear pulsed through me now, "They had SEEN the old hag, and they knew what it was no less. But why pretend that they hadn't seen it? What was going on? For that matter, what the heck was a Kindly One? Obviously they knew more about what was going on than I did.

I pushed away from the door, and made to tiptoe down the hall, unfortunately, I did not realize that one of my shoe laces had come undone, and I tripped, landing with a thud on the floor. I tensed as everyone in Aias' room stopped talking. Not wanting to find out what would happen if they discovered me out in the hall, I darted down the hall, now wary of my shoelace. I made the mistake of glancing back at Aias' room, and I nearly fell over again at the shadow I saw in the open doorway. The door to Aias' room was open, and the shadow that was being cast from the light inside the room, was not entirely human. The upper half that I could see was human, it was the bottom half that was in question, it certainly wasn't human, and if I had to have guessed, I would have said the bottom half was a horse. Sprinting, hoping that whatever that shadow was didn't decide to come after me, I went up the stairs two at a time. I only slowed when I had reached my dorm room door, and unlocked it.

I walked in, making sure to shut the door behind me, and I locked it for good measure. Pressing my back against the door, I took a couple shuddering breaths. That shadow had scared the crap out of me. The shadow had reminded me of the old hag and how she had been part human and part God knows what!

It took me several hours to calm down and several more to fall asleep again, when I did, I started to wish that I hadn't.

Bellerophon was laughing and drinking with other guests at a different palace than King Proteus', but this king didn't seem to be joining in the festivities. Instead, he was reading the same letter that King Proteus had given Bellerophon in my last dream, so I assumed the king was the King of Lycia. He got paler and paler as he read the letter, and when he finished it, he glanced nervously at Bellerophon, before he seemed to steel himself, and then he captured his guest's attention. "Bellerophon, it is an honor to have the hero who captured Pegasus here, and I wish that I did not have to ask you this as your host, but I must…" It was clear that he was making up his little spiel off the top of his head. "The Chimera has been terrorizing our land for many generations, and I'm asking you to slay it."

Bellerophon nearly choked on his drink, "Me? You want me to try and slay the Chimera? The creature that is said to be undefeatable…?" The king nodded. Bellerophon grinned, "Than defeat it I shall! After the nine days of your hospitality it's the least I can do to repay you, your highness." The king seemed relieved as Bellerophon stood up, "I'll go slay the Chimera right now, just tell me where it resides."

The King of Lycia shook his head, "It is night already, you just have to go to the village to find the foul creature."

Bellerophon nodded, before he strode out of the room and into the grounds surrounding the palace. He whistled and Pegasus, once again, came at this call. He stroked Pegasus' head, before he led the stallion towards a building that I soon realized was an armory of sorts. As Bellerophon started to strap on armor, he confided to the stallion, "Normally when riding you I wouldn't wear armor since you're so quick and strong, but the Chimera worries me. I've heard many tales about it, and I have no intention of dying yet." He shoved a helmet onto his head and grabbed a bow, a quiver of arrows, and a spear, "I have no intention of getting close to that thing." Pegasus snorted in response. "All right, my friend, let's go slay that Chimera!"

As Bellerophon mounted Pegasus shadows started to swarm around them, though the pair seemed oblivious. Before the shadows could claim the scenery and drag Pegasus into their depths, my alarm went off.

I don't think I've ever been happier to have my alarm wake me. I turned it off and I changed into a navy blue T-shirt and some jeans, and that's when it hit me…I was leaving Hale today and going back home. Reluctantly, I grabbed my bags and started down the stairs to the bottom floor so I could wait outside for my mother, step-father, or both to pick me up.

When I got outside, I was surprised to see Aias out there, with his own bags. Perplexed, I asked as I walked up to him, "Aias…what are you doing here?"

"D-don't you remember?" Aias asked, obviously nervous. "I got expelled as well."

"What? No you weren't!" I argued, knowing that I wouldn't forget something that important.

Aias was still nervous as he tried to give me a disbelieving look, "Your parents even offered to let me stay at your house till summer started.

Now I knew he was lying, "Aias. My mother would never do that!"

"Well, that's what happened," I could really tell he was nervous now.

"You're a terrible liar," I stated.

Aias blanched, "Alex! Would you just trust me, please? This is for your protection!"

I nodded, too stunned from Aias' outburst to say anything as my mother's car, a partially rusted, sky blue station wagon, pulled up with her in the driver's seat, and my step-father in the front passenger seat.

Neither of my parents said a word as Aias and I got into the back seat, which was fine by me. I didn't have anything to say to them, and apparently they had nothing to say to me, though my step-father kept glancing at me and shaking his head in disappointment every now and then; each time a small twinge of regret went through me, I mean, it wasn't his fault he had married my witch of a mother.

Aias didn't seem fazed by the silence, merely gazing anxiously out of the windows as if he expected something to attack the car, and after what I had heard between himself, Mr. Jackson, and Mr. Brunner in his room, last night, I figured that wasn't too far from the truth.

My mom stopped the car in front of our New York City apartment, but what she said once Aias and I had our stuff out of the car, blew all our minds.

"You're not coming inside," she snapped. "You're a disgrace to this family and I will not have you ruining our lives any further."

Considering running away and being on the streets and actually having that fact staring you in the face are two completely different things, and being faced with the fact left me stunned.

My step-father was even stunned, "Honey, she's your daughter, you can't just…"

"You don't know what's going on! I do!" She snapped at him, her gaze warning him to shut up now while he had the chance. "I wish I had never met her father. He never warned me about all of the things that would come from bearing him a child!"

My step-father looked like he was trying to think up an argument, but Aias beat him to it, "You can't turn out Alex! You know what will happen!"

"What?" I faced Aias, more confused by his statement than my mother's.

My mother's voice had an icy edge to it, "I don't care!"

My step-father grabbed my mother's arm, "Dee, we can't just turn her out on the streets. She'll die. I won't stand by this time and watch you turn her out on the streets."

I gained a new respect for my step-father that day, but before anybody could say anything else, there was a bull-like bellow from down the street, which made Aias pale. He grabbed his cell phone, found a number of some sort and typed a quick text message before he threw the phone away from himself. I had to admit the throw was pretty good, since it landed quite a few blocks away from us.

"No!" My mother moaned, before she glared at me, "You've brought even more trouble here, just like always!" I vaguely registered that I could hear tires squealing a little ways down the street, but I was too busy watching my mother raise her hand to strike me. As she swung her hand I closed my eyes, bracing for the blow. However, it never came.

After several seconds, I opened my eyes to see my step-father and Mr. Jackson both holding her wrist. My parents looked startled to see Mr. Jackson there, their faces probably reflecting my own shock.

I glanced at the curb and saw that there was a blue Prius parked there, its engine running.

Aias seemed relieved to see Mr. Jackson, while my step-father asked, "Who are you?"

Instead of answering, Mr. Jackson snapped his fingers underneath their noses, and my parents' eyes got a far-off look to them. My step-father looked confused, "What's going on?"

"Nothing that concerns you, or your wife, you should go inside to your two daughters now," my parents nodded vaguely, and started to walk towards the apartment door, "And you'll need to throw out those pictures of Alex Ashwood, she's not your daughter, as you well know."

I gazed at my Literature teacher in surprise, as my parents nodded obligingly, before they headed into the apartment, leaving Aias, Mr. Jackson, and myself on the street. Before I could ask what just happened, another bellow came from a closer destination.

"Get in," Mr. Jackson said, as he made his way to the driver's side of the car.

Aias shoved me into the car as he muttered, "I'll explain in the car, just get in please!"

I got into the car, and I barely managed to get my seat belt on before Mr. Jackson hit the gas, squealing the tires as the car shot forward.

"What the hell is going on?" I demanded, trying not to pay attention to how Mr. Jackson was driving as he wove through traffic, horns honking at him all the while.

Aias said, also trying not to pay attention to Mr. Jackson's driving, "Listen, I've been watching you."

"WHAT?"

"Keeping tabs on you," he elaborated. "I wasn't faking being your friend though." He jumped as we heard another bellow, this time it sounded much closer. "I was keeping tabs on you since," he was cut off as the Prius hit a bump and Aias hit his head on the ceiling.

Mr. Jackson said from the front as he took a sharp turn, "Long story short, everything I've been teaching you about Mythology happened. The gods and goddesses, they're real!"

"You're joking-ouch!" my shoulder slammed into the door, "Right?"

Mr. Jackson gazed at me through the rearview mirror, "Take a look through the back windshield and tell me."

Turning around I quickly faced the front again having seen a half-man half bull chasing the car from only a block away, and it looked like it was gaining. From the waist down it was a man, but about where its belly button should have been, brown fur started and it had two meaty, fur covered hands, and of course the head of a bull with humongous horns. "Th-that's…"

"Don't say it!" Aias pleaded.

I really wanted to say, Minotaur, but I took pity on him and didn't say it. "So, what are you and Aias?" I asked instead.

Aias answered, "I'm a satyr."

"You mean the half sheep half…"

"_Bla-ha-ha!_" Aias looked at me in disgust as a sharp, throaty sound came from his mouth. "Goat! Not sheep! Goat! I'm half goat!"

"Right," I said, taking in his angry expression. "You don't look half…goat…" Somewhere in Aias shoving me into the car, he had lost one of his feet. Seriously, where his foot would have been was a hoof.

I looked at Mr. Jackson, "What does that make you?"

"Alex, I'm the same as you," Mr. Jackson stated, looking at me in the rearview mirror again, "I'm-shit!" He jerked the wheel and we managed to squeeze through a gap in traffic, glancing out the back windshield I watched as an empty car (at least I hoped no one had been in it) hit the spot where he had been, causing the cars that had been way behind us to either swerve away from the car, or to hit their brakes, hard.

I didn't have much of a view of this as I was thrown against my seat belt as Mr. Jackson turned the car down a one-way street filled with moving cars.

"Are you insane?" I demanded, as I watched us swerve away from cars and cars swerve away from us.

Mr. Jackson demanded, obviously annoyed, "Would you prefer that I stopped now and let Bull Boy back there get you instead?"

I almost said yes, until I realized just how close behind us the Minotaur was.

I turned back to face the front and shouted at the same time Aias did, "Look out!"

A semi was heading straight towards us, and Mr. Jackson turned down a street, apparently at random.

Aias started to whimper, as he started to eat the back seat, "Faster, please go faster!"

I didn't dare look back, as I was too scared of what I was seeing through the front windshield to really care. Two lanes of cars with no gaps in between them and they were coming right at us while we were driving towards them, "You ARE insane!"

"Shut up!" Mr. Jackson snapped as he drove onto the curb, managing to avoid hitting any pedestrians, most of whom had the good sense to get out off the sidewalk long before we were on it.

I heard several bellows and smashes, telling me that the Minotaur was being slightly detoured by traffic.

With another sharp turn onto a street, Mr. Jackson spun into a parking space, leaving the world spinning for Aias and I while he unbuckled his own seat belt, "Get out of the car now!"

Aias and I obeyed as best we could with our vision spinning, and got out of the car. With a quick glance backward, Mr. Jackson shepherded the two of us down some stairs, as another bellow came from the Minotaur. Aias whimpered, "Not the subway! Anything but the subway!"

"We have no choice," Mr. Jackson, stated, as he threw down three tokens for the subway to the window and he continued to shepherd us through the crowd to the train.

Another bellow echoed throughout the underground, and Mr. Jackson paused, glancing back. "Aias. I can't come with you. Not if you two are going to make it to Camp Half-Blood."

Aias looked like he was going to faint, "But…!"

"Get off the train once you've put a couple miles between yourselves and this city. Then take a taxi to Camp Half-Blood." He handed Aias a bag, which I assumed had money in it. "Now get going!"

The Minotaur came into sight just then, and Mr. Jackson pulled out his pen, taking a step away from Aias and I. "Mr. Jackson!" I shouted, " You can't take on that thing!"

Mr. Jackson didn't even glance at me, "Aias! Get out of her out of here now! I should be able to keep it preoccupied for a while!"

Aias grabbed my arm, but I shook him off, "We can't leave him!"

"He'll be fine! We won't be though if _it_ gets to us!" Aias stated.

"Hey! Ugly!" Mr. Jackson shouted at the Minotaur as Aias dragged me towards the subway train. "You certainly haven't gotten any prettier since the last time I saw you," Mr. Jackson taunted. The Minotaur's gaze became furious. "Don't tell me another demigod got the pleasure of kicking your ass; I thought that privilege was reserved for me!" The Minotaur's gaze, if possible, became even more pissed off.

Aias had managed to get me on the train, and the doors closed just as the Minotaur charged my Literature teacher, and I watched as Mr. Jackson dodged to the side, taking the cap off his pen; while other passerby started to head towards the nearest exits to avoid the Minotaur and Mr. Jackson. Those were the last things I saw before the station platform was lost from my sight as the train sped away.


	3. Three

_**I do not own any of the original Percy Jackson characters they all belong to Rick Riordan and his genius.**_

* * *

><p><strong>I Learn Not to Mess With Mr. D. <strong>

Aias dragged me away from the train door, pulling me into one of the open seats, "Try and relax."

"Relax? Relax? How can I relax when I just saw the Min…"

Aias begged, "Please don't say it!"

I glared, my temper past its breaking point, "Fine! Bull Boy!"

"Thank you," he said in relief. Before I could go back into a tirade, he added, "Look, I'm taking you somewhere safe, where you'll be trained to face monsters like that."

"But why do I even need training?" I demanded. "Why do I even see these things?"

"Because you're a half-blood," Aias said quietly.

I stared at him dumbfounded, "Half-blood?"

"Demigod."

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Back up! Demigod? But demigods are the offspring of the…" I couldn't finish the sentence. It seemed way too unreal. Gods and goddesses weren't supposed to exist, but then again, neither were monsters.

Aias finished the sentence for me, "Of the gods. Yes. Your father, whoever he may be, is an Olympian god."

I was half tempted to say "but those are only myths", but I'd just seen the Minotaur, so I wasn't going to argue. Instead, I said, "So…where exactly are you taking me?"

Aias glanced around at the other passengers on the train, "Camp Half-Blood. It's a safe place for demigods." His eyes started to fill with tears, "It's getting there that's the problem."

He was starting to freak me out now, "Aias…What do you mean?"

He was visibly sobbing now, "I've never gotten a half-blood safely to camp!" Aias started to bleat as he sobbed.

That wasn't exactly comforting news, but I couldn't let him see that I was now worried, "I'm sure I'll get to camp safely, Aias." He sniffled in response.

I decided to change the subject, "So…when will I know who my father is?"

"Hopefully once you get to camp," Aias said, wiping his nose with his sleeve. "Per—I mean Mr. Jackson, managed to make the gods swear on the River Styx that they'd claim their children, and then gods have now modified it to, 'once the kids get to camp'…but at least they're claiming them!"

"Any guesses on who my father is?" I asked, hoping he'd have a suggestion.

Aias shook his head, "I have several, but I don't want to say them…just in case I'm wrong."

I leaned against the seat, and sighed. I hadn't really expected him to answer, but I had gotten my hopes up, sadly. My mind went to Mr. Jackson then, wondering if he'd be okay. "Hey, Aias…do you think Mr. Jackson will be all right?"

"Yeah, he's faced Bull Boy before," Aias stated as if this was something someone would do everyday.

My eyes widened, "He has?"

"Twice."

"Wow!"

Aias grinned, "He's a son of Poseidon, and he's swum in the River Styx."

"Wait, he's like Achilles, then?" I asked.

Aias nodded, "He only did it so he could defeat the Titans." His eyes widened and he covered his mouth.

"Another one of those things you don't say lightly?" I inquired. He nodded, his eyes still wide. I couldn't help it, I laughed. Aias shoved me before he started to laugh as well.

Aias wiped the tears from his eyes, before his mood darkened again, "We're going to have to get off the train soon, we'll be arriving at the next stop in five minutes."

I could tell he was nervous again, and stupid me, I asked, "What happened to the other half-bloods you tried to get to camp?"

Aias bleated, "_Bla-ha-ha!_ They were killed!" My eyes widened. "I'm not going into the how either!"

"I wasn't going to ask," I said softly.

Aias sniffed and snuffled for a minute or two. I wondered how close he had gotten to each of the half-bloods he had tried to escort. If he had made friends of them like he had of me, I couldn't imagine the pain he must have went through with each one.

I changed the subject, "How did Mr. Jackson get to my apartment so quickly?"

Aias was glad for the change of subject, "He was following us the entire time, just keeping a good distance between his car and your parents."

"What did he do when he snapped his fingers?" I questioned.

"He manipulated the mist."

"He did what?" I couldn't believe what I had just heard.

Aias nodded before he explained, "The mist is what prevents mortals from seeing the monsters that are around them." He gestured at his hoof and then at the passengers, "They probably just see a regular show, or they assume that I lost my foot in some sort of tragic accident."

I frowned, "My mom had to be able to see through the mist…so why did she believe Mr. Jackson so easily?"

Aias shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Sometimes mortals can see through the mist, but sometimes…sometimes they lose that ability."

"She knew that something was following us," I argued, I didn't know why. Maybe I just wanted to believe that she had cared about me, even a little.

Aias looked like he wanted to disappear, "She probably can only see blurs and hear some of the monster sounds like echoes…Alex, I'm really sorry about how she acted towards you…" That ended our conversation.

Neither of us said a thing to the other again until the train started to slow. "We need to get off here," Aias said, leading the way to the doors. The train came to a stop and Aias grabbed my wrist, making sure he didn't lose me in the hustle and bustle of the crowd.

We managed to get outside and Aias hailed down a taxi. As we got into the back seat the driver asked, "Where to?"

"Long Island," Aias answered.

The driver raised his eyebrow, "Anywhere particular in Long Island?"

"I'll let you know when we want to get out," Aias stated, throwing the bag of money into the front passenger seat. The driver's eyes widened, before he made his way into traffic, no more questions came from him either.

I bet you're all waiting for something to exciting to happen, well, nothing did. The taxi driver took us all the way to where Aias wanted him to stop, a simple road that looked like it led towards a strawberry farm. Aias was jittery though as we got out of the cab. "This is too easy," he whispered, glancing wildly around. "No half-blood gets here this easily…"

"Maybe I'm just lucky," I said, not believing it myself. Usually, when you're away from the raucous of sound that the city creates you could hear birds and other wildlife…I couldn't hear any of that.

Aias noticed as well, "Let's get moving!" He pulled off his remaining fake foot and tossed it aside and took off at a run, moving nimbly now that he wasn't hampered by the fake feet. I had to sprint to keep up with him.

"Where are we going?" I gasped, slowing down.

Aias was also panting, clutching his side, he pointed towards a hill with a large pine tree on it, "There!" He paled suddenly, and I could see why.

Blocking our way, just at the bottom of the hill, was the Minotaur.

"Im-impossible!" Aias squeaked. "He couldn't have gotten here so fast!"

From what I could see of the Minotaur, he looked very confused as he swung his head from side to side, as if he was checking out his surroundings. I watched him lift his nose into the air for several seconds before he bellowed, focusing on me.

"Not good!" Aias squeaked, grabbing my arm, "We have to get past him!"

"How?"

Aias started to drag me forward, "When he charges us, dodge to the side, he's not very good at turning."

"Right," I managed to say.

When we were close enough for the Minotaur to decide that he wanted charge, neither of us counted on the other dodging to the opposite side when he finally did. I went to the right and Aias went to the left.

The Minotaur went several yards before he stopped and turned around, determining which one of us he wanted to go after…he picked me of course!

I leapt to the side again as when he was close enough, and I ducked as he stuck out his arm to grab me. That's when things went from bad to worse.

Aias decided to attract the Minotaur's attention, "H-hey! Ug-ugly! Over, over here!" Apparently the Minotaur didn't like to be called ugly. It automatically went after Aias, putting on a burst of speed, taking the poor guy off guard. The Minotaur's head caught Aias in the side, and sent him flying. When he landed, their was a sickening snap Aias was still.

Infuriated, I did the stupidest thing in ever, I ran at the Minotaur, with a shout of fury, determined to cause it some pain.

The Minotaur took its time turning around, before it charged again. Instinct took over again, and I rolled to the side, once again avoiding the arms that were extended to grab me.

We started to work our way up the hill towards the tree, where I noticed something scaly wrapped around it. A dragon.

I stand corrected. What I did next, was the stupidest thing I had ever done. After dodging another of the Minotaur's charges, I sprinted towards the tree and dragon, before I slammed into the dragon's side, and part of the tree. I ricocheted off of the rough surfaces and rolled back down the hill partially, a little bit dazed. But that didn't matter, the dragon moved, its body moving around the tree until its head was facing me. However, its eyes merely swept over me, and settled on the Minotaur. With a roar, it breathed fire, sending a stream towards the Minotaur.

With the Minotaur distracted, I made my way back down the hill towards Aias, hoping my friend wasn't dead. As I got closer, his eyes fluttered open, though they were glazed with pain.

He lifted his torso off the ground and examined his left leg, "I-I think I broke my leg…"

"I think you did to," I admitted, noticing the odd angle his leg was at. "Come on. I don't know how long that dragon will keep Old Ugly occupied."

"You mean Peleus?" Aias glanced up the hill.

I put his arm over my shoulders and helped him up, "Peleus?" Aias nodded. "Okay. Well I hope he keeps the Minotaur occupied."

"As long as the Minotaur keeps threatening the tree and the Golden Fleece," Aias murmured.

That's one I spotted the fleece hanging in the tree, "This just keeps getting weirder and weirder…"

I didn't know how weird it was about to get though. A shout came from just over the hill, "Half-bloods to arms!" It was a strong female voice that was filled with authority.

Aias exclaimed, "That's Annabeth!"

"Anna-who?" I inquired.

"Annabeth," Aias said patiently as we kept slowly working our way up the hill. "She's a daughter of Athena, and she obviously noticed that Peleus was fighting with the Minotaur!"

Peleus, the dragon, was now fighting tooth and nail against the Minotaur, who was managing to hold his own against the dragon.

A group of people in, what looked like, old fashioned Greek armor came over the hill, some wielding swords, spears, bows and arrows, and a bunch of other weapons, some of which I didn't even have names for.

A woman in the lead, with blond hair tied in a pony tail was obviously leading the group. Without the slightest hesitation, she ducked under a wild swing from the Minotaur and tried to stab him with her dagger, only just missing as the Minotaur managed to shove Peleus away.

Where Annabeth missed, an arrow found its mark, hitting the Minotaur in the side. With one last bellow, the Minotaur turned to dust.

My eyes were wide with wonder. These people had just taken down a Minotaur…I wanted to learn how to do that! I didn't want to be useless, only able to dodge and get someone else to fight for me, I wanted to be the one to stand and fight for my friends.

Annabeth made her ways towards us, and she addressed Aias, "Where's Percy?"

"He forced us to get on the train without him," Aias said, looking terrified of Annabeth.

Annabeth was about to say something, when there was a large "woof" and a huge dog sprang out of the shadow of the tree, a familiar figure on its back. The dog flopped onto the ground, sound asleep, and the figure got off of the dog's back, scratching the dog behind its right ear.

Now, I should say that this dog was beyond huge…to put it into a bit of perspective, it's ear was about the size of me, and I've 5'5".

As the figure walked out of the shadow of the tree, their features were easier to see.

"Percy!" Annabeth exclaimed, taking a step towards Mr. Jackson, and then glancing at us, a slight blush on her face.

Mr. Jackson smiled at her, before he took in Aias and I, "Good, you two are safe…did you manage to destroy the Minotaur?"

Annabeth nodded, "One of the Apollo archers got it. Apparently the Minotaur also went after the Fleece, since Peleus attacked the Minotaur."

I didn't have the heart to say that I had been the one to aggravate the dragon, Peleus, who was now curled around the tree, and snoozing again.

Mr. Jackson frowned, "Really…that explains…" He glanced at Aias and I again. "Never mind, it can wait till later. These two need to go to the Big House, and Aias needs someone to mend his leg." He gestured for Aias and I to follow him as he and Annabeth led the way over the hill.

When I finally reached the top, still half carrying Aias, I stared in amazement at the lay of the land below.

There was a lake along with fields of strawberries, but there was also an arena, a climbing wall, that appeared to have lava pouring down it, a track, a pavilion, and a slew of different cabins set up in roughly a U shape.

Mr. Jackson and Annabeth were deep in discussion as they led the way towards a house, and I could tell it was about the Minotaur.

"Um…Mr. Jac…"

He interrupted, "It's just Percy now, Alex. I'm no longer your teacher."

"Uh, okay," I said, not sure if I could ever consider him anything but my teacher, "Percy, I was the one that irritated Peleus." He frowned at me, "I kind of slammed into him an some of the tree, hoping he'd wake up and think the Minotaur had, well, attacked him." I gazed at the ground in embarrassment, expecting to be scolded.

Annabeth surprised me by saying, "That was quick thinking. Not only did Peleus attack the Minotaur, but that ultimately ended up getting my attention as well." She smiled at me reassuringly.

I couldn't help smiling back as we finally reached the house. Percy waited for me to get Aias up the steps before he moved Aias' arm off my shoulders, "I'll take him from here. Annabeth can introduce you to our _loving_ camp director." He had sarcasm in his voice as he picked up Aias and carried him away.

Annabeth sighed, "I wish he wouldn't do that. He knows it's not good to insult a god."

I started to go through D names in my head, but none seemed to belong to one of the gods, I mean I came up with Demeter even, but I knew Demeter was a goddess.

As we entered, the first thing I noticed was the satyrs, you couldn't miss them with their furry hindquarters. Then I noticed who they were playing cards with; a stout man, his cheeks flushed and his eyes bloodshot, a drunk if I ever saw one. He was also wearing a tiger print shirt, with violet shorts.

He glanced at us as Annabeth led the way in, "Ah, Annabelle…"

"Annabeth," she corrected, though her voice didn't hold any anger, just resignation.

"Whatever. I see you have a new camper with you…Aias finally manage to bring one in alive?" He questioned. Annabeth nodded, "Pity. I was starting to like him for not bringing in any more of you brats."

I should have known better than to do this, but after what Aias had told me and the torment I had seen in his eyes, I lost my temper, "Aias is a great…" I managed to remember what had been on the card, "Seeker! He didn't want those demigods to die! And you're a jerk for…" That's when his gaze locked with mine and images of grapevines choking people and others going insane flashed through my mind. Sweat trickled down my neck than, fear coursing through me, "You're Dionysus."

Dionysus nodded, "Now that we understand each other, you will address me as Mr. D. or sir, understood?"

"Yes, sir," I answered, the images still fresh in my mind.

"Good, now I'm going to get back to my Pinochle game," he glanced at Annabeth, "Take young…Alexandra Ashwood here…" A shiver went up my spine as he said my full name, "To the back room and let show her the video."

I followed Annabeth without complaint, and just as we were about to completely leave the room, Mr. D. said, "And Cassandra…" I assumed he meant me, "Remember, names have power."


	4. Four

_**I do not own any of the original Percy Jackson characters they all belong to Rick Riordan and his genius.**_

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><p><strong>Four: I Tick off a Few (*cough* Many *cough*) People in One Day<strong>

The video was pointless in my opinion. Honestly, Aias had explained all of the material in the video to me before I arrived, but when Mr. D. asked if I liked the video, I thought it'd best to pretend, so I answered, "Yes, sir!" I don't think he bought my enthusiasm behind it though, since he got a thoughtful look on his face and Annabeth practically shoved me out of the Big House.

Once outside, she commented to me, "You really need to stay on his good side; he is a…"

"A god? Yeah, I know," I commented. The initial shock of learning that I was a demigod had already worn off, and now I was just accepting of the fact. I assumed that I had one of the minor gods as my father, and I prayed (though I'm not sure to whom) that I wasn't a daughter of Dionysus! Although, the fact that he didn't like me gave me plenty of hope!

Annabeth glanced around the camp, apparently looking for someone to shove me off on so she didn't have to give me the promised tour of the camp. Spotting her poor victim, she led the way over to an ebony haired boy, who was simply talking with some friends of his…or I assumed they were his friends, he could easily be the camp heartthrob with his face, well toned body...Sorry, but I am a girl you know! Even though he seemed to be busy, Annabeth led me over to him, asking as we approached, "Troy, could you lead Alex on a tour of the camp?"

Troy turned towards us, and answered, "Sure, no problem!" His voice was perfect, not too deep, and no where near being high and/or squeaky, but I digress again.

While Annabeth headed in a completely different direction, Troy led the me on a tour of the camp, asking as we headed towards a stable, "Well, you already know my name, so can I ask yours?"

I wish I could say that I said my name in a cool tone of voice, but I didn't. It came out more like a squeak and a whisper, so a squsper? "Alex," I did "say" (I use the term loosely).

"Are you determined or undetermined?" Troy asked.

You would think that I would remember what those terms meant from the movie but I didn't, so, being as cool as I already was, "Um…"

Troy laughed, but not in a mocking way, "Are you determined, where you know you're Olympian parent, like mine's Zeus, or do you still not know your Olympian parent."

"Undetermined," I answered, in awe that Troy was a son of Zeus.

He held the door open for me, gesturing for me to enter the stable, "You'll be determined in a day or two. Anyway, this is our Pegasi stable."

I gazed around in awe at the various pegasi, each with a different coat color, though one black one stood out from the others, "Wow! That one's amazing!"

"That's Blackjack," Troy stated, his tone hardening. "He belongs to Percy, the son of Poseidon."

In the back of my mind I managed to recall that Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades didn't get along, so it made sense that their kids might not either, but I still asked, "You don't sound like you like Percy very much."

Another voice said, though I could already tell I was the only one hearing it, _You tell him girl! _I knew instinctively that the voice came from the black pegasus, Blackjack.

Troy looked a bit irritated, and he didn't answer my question, "These pegasi are all descended from the original Pegasus, who still roams the skies today. Pegasus is far braver than these nags."

All of the pegasi's ears went back, and Blackjack's voice came into my head again, _He's just upset that we won't take him out of camp so he can look for…you know what, never mind!_

I decided to use this information though, "You've tried to use the pegasi to get out of camp to look for something, and you're just mad that they won't obey you."

Troy's shocking, blue gaze was furious, "How did you…? Never mind, it doesn't matter how you knew…" He was cool and composed once more, "Anyway, if I can't get these nags to listen to me, I doubt any other demigod has a chance of getting out of here either without a quest." He added under his breath, "Especially not Percy."

"You're jealous," I stated, opening my mouth and pretty much inserting my foot.

His gaze became furious once again, "Me? A son of Zeus, jealous of a son of Poseidon?" I could see static electricity leaping along his skin.

Blackjack's voice came into my head again, _Uh…can you calm him down? We don't exactly like electricity!_

_Yes, no electricity would be nice!_ Another voice asserted, coming from a gray Pegasus mare.

I probably should have tried to calm him down, instead, I said, "Look, whether you're jealous or not, it still doesn't make sense to try and get out of camp, I mean, we're safer here."

His gaze was still furious, but the static electricity running along his skin stopped, "We may be safer, but we can't test our skills unless we're out in the real world, where the REAL monsters are."

To say the least, the rest of the tour of camp was done with stiff authority on his part, and admiring eyes on mine. I mean, seriously, Troy was cute! Granted, my boy skills weren't the greatest considering I had ticked him off.

He finished the tour by showing me the various cabins, showing his own cabin, Cabin One, first, and working his way to the others. I paused at Cabin Three, the low and solid building with its gray stone that was studded with pieces of seashell and coral, I knew that this was the Cabin that belonged to Poseidon, but that didn't explain why I felt drawn to it. Knowing that it was best not to enter, I followed Troy as he pointed out the other cabins, finally stopping at Cabin Eleven, the most normal looking cabin out of the lot, though it looked a bit run down with peeling paint and the doctor's symbol above the door, you know the pole with the two snakes wrapping around it…I think it's called caduceus.

Troy said, sounding quite happy, "This is Cabin Eleven, this is where you'll be staying until you're determined." He was definitely happy to rub it in my face that I was undetermined.

Two similar looking guys with sandy hair and elfish looking faces came out, grinning from ear to ear. "So, another daughter of Hermes or…" One of them said.

"Undetermined," Troy stated.

The two rolled their eyes, before one of them introduced themselves, "I'm Travis, and this is Connor, we're the head counselors of Cabin Eleven." Troy took this as his cue to leave.

I knew better than to say anything about being in the Hermes cabin, this had also been explained in the video. For the few days a half-blood possibly remained undetermined, they had to reside in the Hermes cabin, Hermes being the god of travelers among many other things.

"Any possession with you?" Connor asked as they led me into the cabin.

It dawned on me that I had no possessions, all of which, by now, would have been thrown out by my parents, "Er…no…"

"That's probably for the best," Travis said, with a mischievous grin, as Connor grabbed a mat from under a floorboard and set it in one of the few open spots.

I can't say the cabin was excessively crowded, but there was certainly plenty of people in it.

"You'll have to use a mat for the time you're here," Travis stated. "We try to save the bunks for well…you know…actual children of Hermes."

"That's fine," I said, glad that I at least got a mat to sleep on.

Connor gestured outside, "If you want to freshen up a bit, the bathroom's and showering stalls are over there…" Travis lifted up a different floorboard and tossed me a towel and an orange T-shirt, "Just in case you wanted a shower and/or a change of shirt."

"Thanks," I said, touched by their kindness. Maybe staying here at camp wouldn't be so bad. I left the cabin, walking towards the showers, intending to freshen up a bit since I smelled like ode-de-bull.

As I approached the building with the showers, opening the door, a voice said, causing me to jump, "Well, you're new here." As I jumped, a pulling sensation came from my gut as a jet of water shot over my head. Whipping around, I saw a black haired guy, with a sleeveless, black t-shirt, and a tattoo of barbed wire around his right upper arm, on top of the wire was a very detailed skull, the poor guy had been hit with the spray of water.

He glared at me accusingly, as if I had caused the spray, and I still said, "You startled me!"

"Yeah, I can see that," I wasn't sure if he meant how I jumped or the water.

I glanced at the showers, "This isn't the boys one, is it?" I figured that had been why he had said something to me.

"No, it's the girls," he answered. I took in how far away he was from the entrance, a good few feet was between him and the door, not to mention the closest shower stall, weird how the spray got him from that distance.

I couldn't help asking, "Were you following me?"

He glared, "No. I wanted to make sure you had a tour of the camp already."

"Yeah, I've already been assigned to Cabin Eleven," I stated.

"Undetermined," he stated, looking me over. I was really starting to hate that word. He muttered under his breath, "And not Big Three material."

I had no idea, what Big Three material was, but I could tell it was an insult to not be just that, "And you are?" I challenged.

He raised an eyebrow, "I'm a son of Hades."

That answered the question of what Big Three meant. Now, I probably shouldn't have gone any further, but I was having a rough day, and being told I couldn't be a daughter of either Zeus, Hades, or Poseidon, was just plain irritating, "At least I don't have only the dead to talk to." I instantly regretted saying that as his gray eyes blazed. "You're the same as everybody else here." He cast an unreadable expression back at me, before he seemed to meld with the shadows as he walked away.

Great job, Alex. Now that's two guys you've managed to tick off…well, at least I haven't ticked the whole camp off…yet. I went into the girls showers then, glad of the solitude. I felt revitalized as the water cascaded over me, and I ended up staying in there for quite awhile.

When I came out of the showers, in my new Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, I found a girl waiting outside for me. She was younger than I was, probably only eight or nine, and she said timidly, "Travis and Connor said I should wait for you, so you'd know that the Hermes cabin was having a sword fighting lesson right now."

"Oh," I felt bad that I hadn't thought of any of the activities that the cabin might have to do for the day, I mean, heck, that was a huge part of the video.

I followed the girl towards the arena, where all of the Hermes cabin was already split into groups of two and sparring. The girl gave a tentative goodbye wave to me and went to find her partner, who I assumed would be an older or more experienced camper, since that seemed to be how all the other partners had paired off.

I felt like the odd demigod out, everyone had a partner to spar with, and I was just the new, undetermined kid. A familiar voice called out, "Alex! Over here!"

I turned towards the source of the voice, and I couldn't help smiling to see Percy.

As I approached he said, "Travis and Connor asked me to help out, so grab a sword and we'll start with the basics. Try and find one that balances well in your hand." He gestured towards a shed where I could see through the open door that the swords were stored there. Going in, I picked up each sword, each feeling awkward and heavy in my hands, while a few simply felt unbalanced.

Percy frowned as I picked up the last sword, nearly dropping it from how heavy it was. Reaching over my shoulder, he picked up one that had felt unbalanced in my hand, but had been the best one out of all the others, "Use this one for the time being."

I was wondering what sword Percy would use, when he pulled out his pen, uncapping it, and I watched in amazement as it extended into the sword he had used to challenge us to duels in class.

"Wow!" I said.

He grinned, "Riptide usually has that effect on people. While sparring, we'll just be using the broad sides of the blades, all right?" I nodded, a bit nervous. I knew nothing about fighting with a sword. "Don't worry, I'll show you the basics first, then from there you'll have to apply them and get creative with your maneuvers."

Percy did indeed show me the basics, the various forms of blocking and striking, and then I learned the application…in theory.

"Block!" Percy said, as he swung his sword at my right side, _whap!_ My block had been to slow. "Dodge!" Now that was my favorite command, I could do that, I nimbly dodged to the side, avoiding another part of my body being bruised, my joy didn't last long as he whapped me again. Apparently, he thought I was good enough to start reading his movements…either he overestimated my ability or he underestimated his own. Either way, I was more battered than he was by the time Travis and Connor called it quits for Cabin Eleven. Little did I know they had other tortures in mind for me.

I followed the other campers, and Connor dropped back to walk beside me, "You did pretty well against Percy." I gave him a skeptical look. I was drenched in sweat, and panting like a worn out dog, and he thought I did well. He grinned, "I know its hard to believe, but usually no one faces Percy, much less spars with him. Great good to know I was a test dummy. "Seriously, most people can hardly walk after Percy's finished with them."

"Wait another few minutes," I muttered.

He laughed, "Don't worry, we won't make you spar with Percy again, not as long as you're in our cabin."

The next torture in line was rock climbing, which I had been pretty good at one of my previous schools, but then again, they didn't have lava pouring down them either. Plus, I had a safety harness on those other walls, here, I would just be relying on my own strength. The Hermes campers moved towards the wall right away, scurrying up it while no tomorrow, I was slower, having to find my next foot and hand holds while I kept feeling the lava hitting my clothes and skin, causing me to wince in pain, and sometimes even release a hiss of pain. I managed to make it to the top before the lava really started pouring down.

Travis and Connor were grinning as I hauled my scorched hide to the top, collapsing and managing to roll over onto my back, panting, and wishing I could take a nap. "Archery's next," Travis said brightly, extending his hand so he could help me up…more like help me to my doom.

Walking towards the archery range, I was exhausted not to mention hungry, I hadn't eaten since breakfast, and my patience was getting thinner by the second.

On the archery range, as each of my arrows missed the target, my teacher, an Apollo camper named Aaron was really asking to be shot with one of them.

"Are you even watching what I show you?" He demanded, showing me how to pull back the string on the bow and how to notch the arrow for the umpteenth time.

I glared at him, copying his pose, wishing I could aim the arrow at him, not for the first time. Taking aim at the target, I fired the arrow missing the target completely.

"Seriously? Even Aphrodite's children have better ai…!" He didn't get to finish his sentence since I lost my temper, and I punched him.

Aaron landed on the ground, and he was clutching his cheek. When he stood up I was pleased to see that he now sported a cut on his cheek. "You…!"

Travis and Connor had arrived, having since me punch him, "Geez, Aaron, what'd you do to piss her off?"

There was another guy with them as well, who looked furious, "What brought this on?"

"She punched me," Aaron stated, pointing out the obvious. "For no reason." Travis and Connor had to restrain me, since I was tired of Aaron's shit. "See?"

"You pissed her off with your attitude more likely," Connor grumbled, letting go of my arm.

The other guy said, "Still, that's no excuse."

"Come on, Lee!" Travis stated, rolling his eyes. "Aaron's ticked you off a couple of times before too. Don't get on her case, she just got here!"

Lee's gaze was still furious, "She's won't be welcome here for awhile, I have to believe my own cabin mates before others."

Travis and Connor rolled their eyes at Lee as he helped Aaron up and started to fix up the cut on his cheek.

Travis shouted, "Hermes campers! Our lesson's over, let's head back." With a last glare at Lee and Aaron. "Getting into a stupid feud over something so small? It's not like it's the first time he's been punched," Travis muttered.

"Sorry about that," I murmured.

Connor glanced back at me, "Don't sweat it. It'll be forgotten in the morning. Lee's just trying to show he supports his cabin mates."

Something told me that it wouldn't be forgotten in just a day, but I decided to believe Connor.

We returned to Cabin Eleven for a few seconds, before Connor and Travis rounded us up as a conch horn blew (don't ask me how I knew it was a conch horn) and arranged us in a line, before they led us to the pavilion I had seen earlier. Now campers were filing in behind their head counselors, each having their own different tables. As I sat down at the Hermes table I scanned the tables, noticing that Percy and Troy each had a table to themselves, while the other guy who had been sprayed by the haywire shower head was sitting with only one other guy, who had the same black hair and eyes as he did.

The Hermes camper next to me noticed my wandering gaze, "Those are the tables of Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon, there aren't many kids from those gods anymore. Troy and James are the most recent children of the Big Three."

I nodded, fighting back a the comment of , "I wouldn't have guessed from the other two children of the Big Three, Percy and the other guy at the Hades table.

There was a centaur standing next to the head table, and I realized, with a jolt that it was Mr. Brunner, suddenly my appetite didn't seem so great. Aias, being a satyr was one thing, and so was Percy being a demigod, but Mr. Brunner being a centaur? Luckily for my growling stomach, my shock didn't last too long. Mr. Brunner stamped a hoof and raised a glass, "To the gods!"

"To the gods," we all repeated, including me, raising our glasses. I couldn't figure out if we were supposed to really take a drink or not.

Travis told me from across the table, "Just say what you want the glass to be filled with, nonalcoholic of course!"

"Mountain Dew," I said to the glass, feeling a bit stupid. I was surprised that the glass filled with the light green liquid. I took a swig, and sighed, glad that some things were at the least the same.

What I assumed were wood nymphs came and delivered heaping platters of grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread, and even pizza! As the platters were passed around, I didn't miss a chance in loading my plate with the various foods. I was about to take a bite, when I noticed the others getting up and taking their plates over to a fire in the center of the pavilion. "Come on," Connor told me, so I got up and followed them, watching as camper after camper scraped a part of their meal into the fire, usually the ripest fruit, the best slice of pizza, etc.

Travis explained as we got closer, "Burnt offerings of the gods. They like the smell."

"Seriously?"

His serious expression answered my question. I found it hard to believe that an all-powerful being would want to smell burning food.

Connor scraped off a portion of his meal and murmured something, and it wasn't until Travis scraped off a portion of his that I realized what Connor had said, "Hermes."

Great, I had no specific god to offer a portion of my meal to, so instead I formed a silent plea, _Please, just let me know who you are…_ I scraped off my biggest pizza slice, not really expecting an answer. There was a collective gasp as I turned away from the fire and I found everyone staring at me, some in awe, and others a mixture of horror and wonder, and there were even a few that looked furious including; Troy, son of Hades, James, Aaron, and one or two others. Perplexed, I glanced at Travis and Connor, hoping for an explanation as to why I was being stared at, they were looking above my head, eyes wide with wonder and mouths agape. Glancing up, I found what everyone was staring at; a glowing green trident, the mark of one god in particular. I had a feeling this meant I was claimed and that I'd be moving into a different cabin.

The mark of the sea god started to fade, leaving me, a very confused daughter of Poseidon, to face whatever all the campers and supervisors had in mind.


	5. Five

**_**I do not own any of the original Percy Jackson characters they all belong to Rick Riordan and his genius. **_**

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><p><strong>Five: I Have Mixed Feelings About Camp<strong>

The rest of the evening was a blur for my stunned brain, one minute I'm an undetermined daughter of nobody, and the next I'm being gazed at in awe, Mr. Brunner even had the other campers bow, well, apart from Troy, James, and Percy, and, of course, Dionysus. I really wish the others hadn't bowed as well, I was nothing special, I mean what was the big deal about being a daughter of Poseidon, one of the big three gods…never mind.

I guess I could have lived with the gaping looks of awe, the bowing, and even some of the more, not so happy looks, but it hurt a bit when Percy looked my way, and then quickly away again. In that glance I could tell he wasn't thrilled to have me for a half-sister, not that I could blame him; I wouldn't want a younger sibling dumped on me either.

After dinner, I moved my few belongings to the Poseidon cabin, and I claimed the bed farthest away from where Percy's obviously was. I didn't want to aggravate my half-brother any further that evening. Percy hadn't said anything to me, and I was okay with that. If he figured that he needed to calm down before speaking with me (if he spoke to me ever again) than that was fine. I'd rather have a civil conversation than just getting shouted out. I'd had enough of that at home.

Lying on my new bed, realization really, truly sunk in. I would never see my mother, step-father, or his brats of daughters again. I would never face my mother's abuse, my step-father's negligence, or my bratty sisters' whining and temper tantrums. Relief flooded over me, as happy tears spilled from my eyes. I knew that I would remain at camp for the entire year, I didn't need to be in the "real" world. I had experienced more than my fair share as far as I was concerned. Closing my eyes, I allowed sleep to overtake me, hoping that I wouldn't be plagued with any dreams.

Wishing never seems to help anything, I swear!

Bellerophon was older now, his hair now streaked with grey, and he was stroking Pegasus once again, ready to mount, "Today, old friend, I will take a seat among the Olympians. I've faced too many foes and enemies to not be made a god." Pegasus shifted uneasily from hoof to hoof, but allowed Bellerophon to mount. With a powerful down stroke, Pegasus was in the air; with each wing beat, he brought Bellerophon closer and closer to Mt. Olympus.

The dream shifted, revealing a stern looking, ten foot tall, man with black hair and bread, electric blue eyes, and dressed in a toga. He glanced at the approaching figures of Bellerophon and Pegasus. Displeased, he waved his hand, and an insect appeared, vaguely resembling a bee, and it flew straight towards Pegasus.

The scene shifted once again, back to Bellerophon and Pegasus. The insect landed on Pegasus' right hindquarter, and bit the mighty, winged stallion. With a snort of irritation, Pegasus gave a small buck, hoping to dislodge whatever had irritated him. The insect merely moved a bit, closer to where Bellerophon's right leg gripped Pegasus before biting again.

Apparently enraged, by what it thought was Bellerophon's actions, Pegasus gave several huge bucks in the air, dislodging a startled Bellerophon, who fell, screaming, back towards the earth. While Pegasus continued on his path towards Mount Olympus. Darkness descended over the entire scene, Pegasus the only thing remaining, as a bright, white object. Evil laughter echoed throughout the dream again, as shadowy fingers wrapped around Pegasus and dragged him into their dark, depths as he screamed, as only a horse could scream, in pure terror.

I sat bolt upright, sweat trickling down my neck, as I gasped for breath. Pegasus' screams echoed throughout my mind. Trying to regain some composure before Percy, who was currently still asleep, woke up and possibly tried to find out what was wrong.

Taking a couple deep breaths, I managed to calm myself. It wasn't like reoccurring dreams were that unusual, my brain must be trying to get rid of some pent-up emotion that I don't even know about... Yeah, I know, I was stretching for some sort of logical explanation…it wasn't going so well.

I judging by how dark the cabin still was, I assumed that it was either very late at night, or very early morning. Still trying to calm myself down, I lay back in bed, trying to think of something happy to get Pegasus' terrified screams out of my head. Nothing "happy" came to mind. I kept thinking of where I was at and how I was a daughter of Poseidon, but I wasn't exactly happy. I still only had one friend, Aias, but one of people that I had come to respect, Percy, hated my guts, or at least, it seemed that way, I'd really know once he woke up, whenever that would be. I sighed, glancing at the glowing fountain that was in the room, it looked fairly new, but than again, I could only assume that it had been a gift from Poseidon to Percy. The water flowing out of the fountain soothed me, and I was soon asleep once again.

I was roused by someone calling my name, and for a moment, I forgot where I was. Upon opening my eyes, realization came back to me. I was in Cabin Three, the cabin, for children of Poseidon, for half-bloods like me.

"Come on, I booked the climbing wall for…us…this morning," Percy said, sounding awkward. "Get dressed and meet me out there."

Sighing, I got out of bed as he left the cabin, clothes in hand. I couldn't help sighing a second time as I found my own change of camp T-shirt, before I headed towards the girls showers and bathrooms.

I hated that climbing wall with a passion by the time we were done, my orange shirt now sporting various holes with black rings around them. Percy had easily made it to the top every time, while I floundered up the thing, trying not to fall and trying not to get seriously burned.

We headed towards the pavilion for a quick breakfast; breakfast being a come and go affair unlike dinner had been the night before. I scraped part of my meal into the brazier and said softly, "Poseidon." As Percy and I ate, I couldn't hated the fact that the other campers kept glancing at me and sniggering. I mean, come on! I knew I probably looked like Hades, but seriously, they couldn't have looked much better when they had been new and first climbed the wall either.

As we headed back to our cabin, Percy glanced at me, a small smile on his face as we headed back towards our cabin, since we didn't have anything to do for one hour, but I dreaded thinking of when that hour was up and Percy would get to use me for a sword practice dummy. I assumed that he was smiling due to how I looked. He moved his arm, and I flinched, since I didn't expect the movement, causing him to frown, as he moved his hand towards my pony tail, where I assumed he put out a minute fire that I hadn't known about near the end of my pony tail. That might have also explained what the other campers had been laughing at.

Since he was still frowning, I quickly distracted him, "So...Mr. Brunner…"

"Chiron," he inserted. "His real name is Chiron."

"Seriously? The Chiron?" I asked, shocked. He nodded. "Wow! So he's the activities director?"

Percy nodded again, "And when he's not here, he's helping the satyrs find young half-bloods, usually under different aliases, but he's fond of the name Mr. Brunner."

"Do you usually get involved in finding half-bloods?" I inquired, glad that I had distracted him.

"Not usually, but if I do, it's only because the satyr couldn't get Mr. Brunner," he explained.

It was my turn to frown, "So why were you both there?"

"With Aias' track record, we didn't want to risk losing another half-blood, especially not one who was as powerful as you were," he met my inquiring gaze. "Yes. We could tell you were a powerful half-blood, but we just weren't sure who your parent was."

"So you knew I was Big Three material?" I questioned, feeling smug that I had remembered that that was what Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon were referred to as.

Percy shook his head, "We had suspicions, but there were other possibilities as well."

I didn't ask who the other possibilities had been. So I changed the subject once again, "Um…no offense, but for someone who's dyslexic, I wouldn't think being a literature teacher would be the first career choice…"

"It was the only position open at the time, but I don't mind reading every now and then, even if it is hard to get the words to make sense…it's a nice escape from reality sometimes," he grinned suddenly. "That doesn't mean you'll see me reading _Gone With the Wind,_ or any of the _Harry Potter _books anytime soon. I still don't have the patience for books of those sizes."

"But you read us myths, which aren't exactly small," I muttered.

Percy shrugged, "I find it easier to read larger material when I'm pretending to be a teacher or something…" He looked uncomfortable, so I didn't press about the "something.

Instead, I asked, knowing just how random it sounded, "Um…how many half-bloods did Aias fail to bring here?"

"Ten," Percy stated, though his voice wavered for a split second. "They were all on Half-Blood hill, but they never made it to the safety of our borders. They never made it to the tree."

I turned to look at the tree on Half-Blood hill, the dragon, Peleus curled around it's trunk; it was almost too easy to imagine how panic stricken those ten half-bloods had been, or how hopeful as well, thinking that someone would possibly save them. "Does that usually happen…I mean, half-bloods not making it here?" I didn't want to say "dying before they got here."

"Not as often as it used to happen," he answered, cryptically.

We walked in silence for a couple seconds, and it wasn't until we reached our cabin that Percy asked, "Did your parents' strike you?"

Damn. I obviously hadn't distracted him enough, and I couldn't see a way of avoiding the question, so I answered truthfully, "Yeah, well, at least my mom did, you saw how she was."

"I was hoping that was a one time incident," Percy muttered. Okay, so maybe my half-brother didn't hate my guts after all.

We spent the hour in our cabin in silence, neither of us talking, so perhaps I was wrong, maybe he didn't hate me, but he certainly didn't like me either. He spent the hour, polishing a shield that he was disguised as a wrist watch when not in use, I started to wonder what other weapons he had on him… I glanced at the fountain, listening to its gurgling, which was smoothing to me, almost to the point of putting me to sleep. Luckily the hour was up by the time this happened, and Percy and I were heading to the arena for sword practice.

Much to my relief/disbelief, once we were at the arena and actually sparring, I wasn't getting hit nearly as many times as the day before, blocking and even attempting to get one of my own strikes in, though Percy easily blocked them, I still felt good. After the sparring match, though I was bruised, once again, I couldn't help smiling when I noticed that Percy was breathing heavily.

"You improved," Percy stated, causing me to smile even more. "I might have to really put in an effort next time."

This put a slight downer on my excitement, but not for long. It was good to know that I might actually be good at something here at camp.

Percy led the way to the archery range, with me trailing behind him, trying to ignore the glares those from the Apollo cabin kept shooting me as we got closer to the archery range.

Glancing around, Percy asked, "What happened when you were here yesterday with the Hermes Cabin?"

"I punched Aaron," I muttered.

Percy got that look he had always given me whenever I had done something that he'd expected, but still wished I hadn't done. "Alex…" he had the same tone as well. "What exactly happened her yesterday?"

"I punched, Aaron," I muttered.

He fought back a smile. "Wish I'd been here to see that. That kid drives me nuts," he murmured, before he regained his teacher-like attitude, "You really shouldn't have done that."

"Yeah, I know," I muttered.

Percy paused as Lee approached us. "So, Percy," Lee started. "Can you get your sister to apologize for what she did yesterday?"

"I wouldn't even if I could," Percy stated.

Lee glared at him, but he just shoved past Percy, some of his campers following him.

"Don't mind them," Percy said, as he started walking towards the archery range, once again. "This will blow over, eventually."

I followed him, trying not to glance back at the Apollo campers, "This isn't normal, is it…I mean, for them to be holding a grudge?"

"No, not really, but then again, Lee's never been very welcoming to new campers, so he's probably hoping that you'll apologize just because his cabin's shunning you," Percy answered.

"Great," I muttered.

Once we reached the archery range, while Percy started his own practice, Chiron, who had been practicing on his own, took me under his tutelage, showing me the right stance, and critiquing it each time until I finally managed to hit the target several times, although never dead center.

As another of my arrows hit the target, Chiron said, "You're not taking your time, you need to aim before loosing the arrow. You're not on a quest, and you certainly won't be getting one yet, so take your time while you can."

I nodded, notching another arrow and pulling it and the bowstring back. Taking careful aim this time, I let the arrow fly. It sailed through the air, and planted itself right next to the center of the target.

Chiron nodded, "Good, as you improve, speed will come with it."

I nodded, now excited as I continued to practice. Out of all the arrows I fired, only one ever came as close to the center, and that was the one that had gotten me excited. By the end of the practice, I still despised archery, regardless of what Chiron said, and I probably would for a long time, since Percy admitted that he wasn't fond of archery either.

After archery practice, Percy glanced at me, "Well, let's head to the pavilion for some lunch, then we can head down to the stables so you can get a pegasus riding lesson."

I had to force a smile onto my face. At the word pegasus, I could hear Pegasus' screams echoing in my head from my nightmare. The sound still sent chills up my spine, even if it was only from a dream.

Percy hadn't expected the forced smile, and I could tell he was trying to figure out what was bothering me. He didn't get the chance to ask me what was wrong, not that I believe he was going to. Since Annabeth walked over to us, "So, Seaweed Brain, having fun?" I couldn't tell if she was referring to the fact that I was now his half-sister or what.

"It's been interesting," Percy stated, now distracted by his girlfriend, and I now knew that they were indeed referring to me. Suddenly remembering that I was still there, Percy said, "Alex, why don't you head up the pavilion? I'll catch up."

Knowing that he wasn't really asking, I headed towards the pavilion, feeling miserable. He and Annabeth would get to discuss the dilemma that I had given him.

Halfway to the pavilion, I stopped, unable to resist glancing back at Percy and Annabeth. They had their heads together, and were chatting, though they were slowly walking towards the pavilion.

"You know, they're probably not talking about you," a familiar voice said. I turned around, smiling, glad to see Aias.

I shrugged as I walked towards him, "It just seems that way… Everybody else seems to be talking about me."

"Well, yeah, you're the first daughter of Poseidon in a long while," he stated. "People are bound to talk."

"So…are you still allowed to search for demigods?" I asked him.

Aias nodded, "Yeah, though next time, if I mess up, I'll be put on field duty…"

"What's that?" I questioned.

Aias sighed, "I get to play music all day for the strawberry plants in the field to help them grow."

"That doesn't sound too bad," I stated.

He sighed again, "But I really want to help search for demigods and bring them here."

"I'm sure you'll do fine," I stated, smiling.

"Thanks, Alex," Aias said, looking grateful. "You'll be the first to know if I succeed!" We had reached the pavilion now, and he said, "I'll have to leave you now, since I can't sit at your table."

"Really?"

He shot me a disbelieving look, "Didn't you pay attention to the video? You can only sit at your godly parent's table, not anybody else's…at least not for more than a few minutes anyway, or else Mr. D. starts to get annoyed."

"Some of the rules at camp make no sense," I muttered.

Aias shrugged, "What does make sense at Camp Half-Blood? I mean, think about it, Alex. Just a few days ago, satyrs, gods, goddesses, monsters, they didn't exist."

With that note, he hurried towards the head table, where Mr. D. was now seated, having decided to grace lunch time with his presence.

I sat down at the Poseidon table, waiting for Percy, when a voice said behind me, "So, you know Aias? No wonder you're such a pathetic half-blood."

Whirling around, I came face to face with Troy. My anger blocked any thoughts of how good looking he was, as I snapped, "And let me guess, the almighty son of Zeus found the camp by himself, but wait, I forgot, you can't even get out of camp without a form of transportation much less find the camp on your own!"

He opened his mouth to retaliate, when I heard Percy behind me, "Troy, I suggest you go sit down at your own table." His tone indicated that he expected Troy to do just that.

Shooting me a glare, Troy stalked over to his table, where he sat down, his back to us.

"The one child of Zeus that I can't get along with," Percy muttered, as he sat down next to me.

I glanced at Cabin One's table, wondering what other children of Zeus Percy could be talking about. He didn't elaborate though.

Lunch was done in the manner similar to dinner the night before, with a toast to the gods and…well…you know the routine!

After lunch, Percy gave me the promised pegasi riding lesson, showing me how to mount and how to stay on the pegasus. Percy mounted Blackjack, while I rode one named Guido.

The two pegasi walked out of the stable together, before they were in the sky with a one mighty down stroke of their wings.

Soaring above the camp, it was easy to imagine that this was how the heroes in my dreams had felt when they had been mounted on the original Pegasus. It felt like I could do anything.

Percy called out to my right, "Remember, this is the only way we can fly, if we were to take an airplane, or any other form of high flying, Zeus would strike us out of the sky."

"Because we're children of Poseidon," I guessed. He nodded.

After a few seconds he added, "We can do low flying, but even then, that's pushing it!"

"So, basically, stay out of the sky unless on a pegasus or it's an extreme emergency?" I asked. He nodded once again, and the rest of the ride was silent, both of us enjoying our ride.


	6. Six

_**I do not own any of the original Percy Jackson characters they all belong to Rick Riordan and his genius.**_

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><p><strong>Six: I Find Out That the Gods Like Tormenting Me<strong>

After a couple hours of flying, Blackjack and Guido landed, reluctantly, wanting to continue their flight.

Blackjack complained to Percy, _But Boss! I rarely get out anymore. _He added, sounding hurt, _You never take me with you on quests anymore!_

"That's because I haven't had any quests recently," Percy stated. "I've only been helping the satyrs with special cases, or I've been here at camp." I noticed that Percy sounded like a kid sulking at this point.

Guido set his head on my shoulder, _Can't you and I continue flying while they talk?_

"Um…no," I answered. "Much as I trust you to stay in the air, I'm not comfortable with how I ride just yet."

_You trust me?_ Guido was enthusiastic, and was practically high stepping as I led him back into his stall. Percy and Blackjack were still "talking" but Percy ended the conversation by walking out of the stable, dragging me along as well, since I had been feeding Guido a couple of peppermints.

"He'll be expecting you to ride him all the time now," Percy stated.

I paused, considering this fact, but I just shrugged, "I like Guido."

"All right," Percy said. "But if you happen to ride a different pegasus, he'll be crushed."

"Are we doing anything else today?" I questioned.

Percy nodded, "I need to teach you about the chariot races, since we have one every summer."

I could recall a History lesson discussing chariot races, "Wait, weren't those dangerous…like fatalities dangerous?"

Percy laughed, "Isn't everything around here dangerous?"

"Yeah, but…!" I couldn't figure out how to argue against Percy's logic.

He led the way over to the chariots, their various baskets glistening in the sunlight. Percy moved up to a sea blue one that was obviously our cabin's chariot, "When we race as a cabin I'll have you driving while I fend off the other cabins."

"And if we're not racing as a cabin?" I questioned.

Percy smiled, "Then it depends on what you and your partner work out."

I sighed. I should have really seen that coming. "So who's your partner if we don't race as a cabin?"

"Annabeth," he stated, though I noticed that he was blushing slightly.

I grinned, "You really like her, don't you?"

"None of your business," Percy stated, though his blush deepened.

I couldn't contain a snicker of laughter, and Percy gave me an annoyed look, "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up while you can." Something in his tone made me stop laughing, probably the fact that his tone indicated that whenever I was fond of a guy he would laugh if I blushed as well.

I decided to change the subject, "So…are we actually going to hitch some horses to these chariots or not?"

"Yep, and you're going to do it alone," he stated.

Blinking in surprise, I asked, "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Percy said, smiling. Seeing my horrified expression, he added, "Don't sweat it! You'll do fine, I'll just correct you if need be."

Feeling, by no means, reassured, I walked back to the stables, having several conversations with many different horses until I managed to find two that not only pulled chariots, but worked well together, having them follow her out without any sort of lead.

The two dappled gray stallions stood quietly, watching her as she set up the chariot, harnessing them to the chariot and making sure all was well.

Percy nodded in approval as he assessed her work, "Not bad, you just need to make sure there's not so much slack in the reins." He pulled them up more so they were tauter, but not causing the horses to jerk their heads.

"Want to take them around the track?" Percy asked. I blanched. "I'll be in the basket with you." Not exactly reassured, I got into the basket, taking up the reins.

Standing behind me, Percy said, "Just give a gentle flick and they'll start out slowly.

Doing as he said, I flicked the reins, and the well trained stallions set off at a walk.

As we neared the halfway point after fifteen minutes, Percy commented, sounding like he was trying not to laugh, "You know, you can go faster."

_But I'm afraid too!_ I silently thought as I took a deep breath and gave the reins a powerful flick. The two dappled grays took off at a gallop, hinting a bump and nearly throwing Percy and I out of the basket.

"Sorry!" I shouted over the wind the horses' were creating, but all I heard was laughing in response. Apparently he liked the speed, even if it had nearly thrown him onto the track.

Once the horses took a fast lap, I gently tugged on the reins, asking them to slow down gradually.

The stallion on the left complained, _Aw! Can't we go longer? I want to run some more!_

_ Would you just obey her?_ The other stallion snapped, nipping the other stallion's nose.

Before a fight could truly start, the chariot was stopped and Percy and I were unhitching them from the chariot and leading them back to their stalls, keeping them apart.

As we walked out of the stables, I grouched, "I thought they said that they got along!"

"They do. But like all good friends, they get into arguments sometimes," Percy said calmly as we walked towards the pavilion once more for dinner.

As thunder rumbled across the sky, I glanced up, worriedly, "I thought it didn't storm here unless it was needed?"

Percy looked just as worried, "I'm not sure, but something must be amiss…"

I didn't comment, since I wasn't sure I was supposed to hear the last part. As we got closer to the pavilion I could tell something was definitely wrong. All of the demigods were standing around their tables, looking agitated and tensed for trouble.

Jogging ahead, Percy approached the Athena cabin's table, and he spoke hurriedly to Annabeth. I didn't move any faster, worried by the way everyone in the pavilion looked, even the satyrs, dryads, and Chiron looked tense.

When I finally reached the pavilion, Percy had finished talking to Annabeth, and he shepherded me towards our table. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Apparently someone's about to get a quest," Percy stated. "Mr. D has yet to announce who he'll be sending though."

Puzzled, I questioned, "But why so suddenly."

"Apparently, something very important has been lost or stolen, or something, no one's exactly sure what apart from the fact that everyone saw Hermes stop by the Big House," Percy answered.

"So now we wait," I stated. He nodded in agreement.

We stood there for several minutes, everyone tense and waiting. When Mr. D. finally arrived, he sat down, "Well? Are you going to start the meal or not?"

Chiron stamped a hoof unnecessarily for silence and raised a glass, "To the gods!"

"To the gods!" we all echoed, sounding less than thrilled. All of us wanted to here who would be leading the quest and also who would be coming with once the leader had seen the Oracle.

I looked around, wondering if the Oracle was actually there. She had been in the video introduced as Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the Oracle of Delphi, a woman with frizzy reddish-brown and a unique sense of style, having been wearing paint splattered jeans and a matching T-shirt, the original color lost under all the paint. Not spotting her in the crowd, I merely assumed she was in her cave, probably waiting for the chosen leader of the quest to come to her for a prophecy.

After the dryads had placed our meal of barbeque ribs, coleslaw, and various fruits and vegetables on the table. Grabbing the ribs and some fruits and vegetables, avoiding the coleslaw, I stood up and followed Percy to the brazier, scraping in part of meal and silently praying, _please don't let me go on the quest, I'm not ready for a quest! _

Once all of us had finished the meal, we all gazed up at Mr. D. wondering when he'd announce the leader of the quest. Taking his sweet old time, Mr. D. slowly rose out of his chair and waved his hand for silence, though it wasn't needed. You could have dropped a pin in their and it would have sounded like a cannon blast.

"A quest has been requested from…" Thunder interrupted Mr. D. "Fine!" he snapped. "I won't say where!" He cleared his throat, "A quest has been requested and now James Bootichini, shall go to the Oracle to hear the prophecy for the quest."

I heard James muttered darkly, "It's Borticelli." He stood up though, his older brother, Nico, giving him a pat on the back as he left.

"Now what?" I asked, genuinely curious.

Percy sighed, "Now, we wait."

An hour later, James returned, looking a bit shaken, several of the campers had left the pavilion already, either assuming that they would not be apart of the quest, or not interested in it at all, most of them were children of Aphrodite, but to be fair, it wasn't all of the that cabin. Mr. D. having also left, uninterested in any more of the quest's proceedings.

Chiron trotted forward to meet James, "Well? What did the Oracle say?"

James took a deep breath:

_Heaven, Sea, and Underworld shall head out to the deadly sea_

_To find the mighty winged carrier and set him free._

_The island of cannibals, is where the carrier resides,_

_The demigods will be watched by dark eyes. _

_Without bounds of friendship they will fail,_

_The three must accept the others' skills to prevail._

"I took it to mean that a child of Zeus, and a child of Poseidon had to come with," James added.

Annabeth stated from where she sat with the other children of Athena, "You're heading out to the Island of the Laestrygonians within the Sea of Monsters."

"That's a reasonable assumption," Chiron stated. "But this winged missing carrier…"

Lee mused, "It can't be Hermes since many campers saw him enter the Big House."

"If it's the carrier I'm thinking of…" Chiron murmured. "Then it's no wonder Olympus is in turmoil…"

"Who do you think it is?" A girl from the Aphrodite table asked.

Chiron shook his head, "It's best if I don't say."

James managed to distract everyone from questioning Chiron further, "Troy will be coming on this mission since he's the only child of Zeus within camp."

Troy nodded, looking eager to start the quest than and there.

I looked at the table then, knowing what was coming next. The musings of which child of Poseidon would go on the quest.

"I think Alex should come on the quest as well," James said quietly.

Nearly falling to the floor, I stood up and argued, "Wouldn't it be better to have a more experienced demigod on the quest?" I for one had had enough hardship to last me a lifetime and I didn't want to add the strain of a quest to my list.

Chiron said, "No, I think James has made a good choice, especially with how the prophecy is worded about the friends." There were several murmurs of agreement rose from the other table.

"As much as I hate to admit it," Percy said quietly. "It would be better for the quest if you went along…" He didn't elaborate, but I did remember his comment about Troy.

_Why do the gods hate me?_ I wondered, remembering my earlier prayer. _What did I do to deserve this?_

Chiron nodded, "Then it's settled. You should leave at dawn, and transportation will be provided for you." He glanced at the Hephaestus cabin table. "I'm sure our mechanical friends will come up with a suitable vessel to get you out to sea."

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><p><em><strong>Author's Note: <strong>_Thank you to everyone who has stuck with this story even after it's shaky beginning that (I'm well aware) is similar to the original beginning of the _Percy Jackson _series and actually sticking around to read the rest of it and find out that it is indeed not a duplicate of the series but it's own story. Thank you to all who have reviewed with constructive criticism and/or support of the story, it has kept me going.


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